US Club Soccer addresses California members disobeying COVID-19 rules

US Club Soccer issued a reminder to members in California who have reportedly held soccer activities in direct opposition to state and local COVID-19 regulations.

Per US Club Soccer’s policies, member organizations are required to follow the social distancing guidelines provided by their state and local public health authorities. Violators become ineligible for US Club Soccer’s insurance benefits, among other potential consequences.

A large portion of California remains in Phase 1 of COVID-19 protocol, keeping it far behind many other states in the return-to-play process. For youth soccer clubs who are still abiding by California’s Phase 1 rules, players remain unable to even do basic drills, such as passing a ball back-and-forth.

[+READ: California’s COVID-19 restrictions force Girls Academy club to move event to Utah]

Several grassroots efforts organized by parents and youth sports coaches have been ignored by California lawmakers, despite multiple petitions gathering over 10,000 signatures advocating for bringing back  youth sports.

See below for US Club Soccer’s reminder to California members:

Dear California members,

As communities work towards achieving safe and responsible return to play – whether that includes competition or just virtual training – US Club Soccer requires its members to abide by the requirements/mandates established by the applicable local and state public health authorities.

Recently, we have received reports of individuals knowingly failing to comply with those requirements.

Therefore, we wanted to remind you that any training, program or activity that is not in compliance with the requirements/mandates established by the applicable local and state public health authorities is not sanctioned by US Club Soccer. As a consequence, no insurance coverage is provided, nor are other jurisdictional considerations associated with sanctioning, such as access to the applicable adjudication process for disciplinary issues or complaints.

While we require our members to comply with state and local requirements/mandates, we also encourage them to adopt additional recommendations that applicable health authorities have put forward.

You may also wish to visit the following resources:

• • Coronavirus web page for various resources, FAQs and more
  • Sept. 8 Member Update regarding important registration reminders

We are all anxious to return to a sense of normalcy on and off the field, but we must remain unwavering in putting the health and safety of our children, parents, coaches and referees first.